A day after its president Raj Thackeray was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate officials for more than eight hours for his alleged financial involvement in M/s Kohinoor CTNL, the MNS on Friday retaliated in an unusual manner by serving a “notice” on the ED for its failure to put up a name board in Marathi in front of its Ballard Pier Office in south Mumbai.
In a tweet put out through its official handle, the MNS stated: “The name boards of Government departments should be in Marathi. Perhaps, the ED office has forgotten it. We have made a complaint in this regard to the district collector’s office. We have sent a copy of the notice to the ED office. Will the Marathi language department compel the ED office to put its name plate in Marathi?”.
Raj was grilled for more than eight hours on Thursday for his financial involvement in M/s Kohinoor CTNL which is being investigated for alleged irregularities in the IL&FS’s loans-cum- investments case.
Raj, whose questioning by the ED officials began around 12 noon and continued till well past 8 pm, emerged out of the ED office at around 8.15 pm on Thursday.
Raj was responding to summons issued to him last week in connection with the investments that he had made in M/s Kohinoor CTNL, a company funded by former Maharashtra CM Manohar Joshi’s son Unmesh Joshi.
After his questioning by the ED in a loan default involving M/s Kohinoor CTNL, Raj had said that notwithstanding the inquiry launched against him by the central investigating agency, he would not shut his mouth but keep speaking against the Government.
“You may investigate me as much as you can, but I would not shut my mouth. But, I would continue to speak (against the Government),” Raj had said.
The ED is investigating the alleged irregularities in the IL&FS’s loans and investments worth over Rs 860 crore in M/s Kohinoor CTNL.
M/s Kohinoor CTNL has been under ED scanner for being a prominent defaulter of IL&FS, amounting to an estimated Rs 135 crore.
Unmesh along with son along with IL&FS and Raj Thackeray-owned Matoshree Construction had in 2005 jointly had made a bid and bought for the NTPC’s Kohinoor Mill’s 4.8-acre property for Rs 421 crore.
In 2008, the IL&FS reneged from the deal and surrendered its shares for only Rs 90 crore, as against an investment of Rs 225 crore made in M/s Kohinoor CTNL. Following the IL &FS’s exit, Raj also exited from the venture after selling his shares.
In 2017, M/s Kohinoor CTNL entered into an agreement to sell some commercial and residential properties in the upcoming Kohinoor Square Towers to IL&FS to settle outstanding of around Rs 500 crore in loans. Following this, IL&FS extended another Rs 100 crore to Kohinoor CTNL on which it defaulted. Jr Joshi’s company is now under control of another company.